The spider is indeed a tarantula. We found them in one of the villas we've stayed in on Bordeaux mountain. They are big and scary looking but I think harmless (unless your arachnaphobic) but I don't like them living in the same house as me!

The scorpions are scorpions and thus can and will sting you. My agent for the last house I rented said her little girl had been stung and did become ill but not seriously.

I always shake clothing and shoes and inspect my bed every night just to be on the safe side.

Diana's advice is appropriate not just in the VI's. Many places on the mainland have nasty spiders, like the brown recluse. I always shake out clothes that I haven't worn for a while. Tarantula's ARE venomous spiders, but they are really docile, too. That's why a lot of people keep them for pets! (not me, thank you). The will only bite if provoked, and even then, the bite, in most cases is not dangerous. There ARE exceptions, of course, like for the occasional person who's allergic to spiders. My advice? Don't whack the inoffensive spider! It's only trying to go about it's job of eating bugs! Just grab a shoebox or other appropriate container, scoop it up (gently, taratulas look mean but they are pretty fragile), and escort it outside where both you and it will be happier! I live in the midwest, and we don't have scorpions here, so I haven't had to relocate one of THOSE, anyone have any tips?

Canoebase -- you must be a man! I don't want to speak for Lavender or Diana, but if I found a tarantula (or worse yet a scorpion) in my villa in St. John you would hear my screams all the way back here in St. Louis!! The only thing you could "scoop up" would be my recently fainted body off the floor! You can be sure I wouldn't kill it, scoop it or get anywhere near it.......I'd be on the phone to animal control!!! Seriously though, if scorpions are that prevalent I would assume there really is a division of animal control (or police?) that handle that kind of thing. I know the police in Arizona are continually handling rattlesnake complaints in residential areas....

Hah! Think I could hear you in Carbondale? yes, I'm a guy, and although I prefer not to share my house with critters, if they accidentally wander inside, I'll attempt to move them without hurting them OR me. Just the other day an inoffensive snake wandered into my garage, I'm just glad that I saw it BEFORE my wife did, so I could relocate said reptile to happier hunting grounds in my woods. I've never handled a rattlesnake, though, I don't know what I'd do in that case. I don't think rural Southern Illinois HAS an animal control unit that's capable of handling venomous snakes, and I'd really hate to kill one. Most venomous reptiles are pretty even-tempered, though. I guess I'll cross THAT bridge when I come to it. And there are NO venomous snakes in the Virgin Islands! (my wife was relieved, we're hikers)

Funny!!! I grew up in Murphysboro, IL! In fact, my parents are still there. Out in the "sticks" I encountered more cotton mouths & rattlesnakes than I care to admit. Snakes, no problem. Insects? The shrieking is loud enough to wake the dead.

Go Salukis!

Tarantulas are really scared of humans & will avoid them if possible. They really are very gentle & will not bite unless provoked. Scorpions are nastier in my opinion & wacking them is no problem or getting a guy to whack them. Here in Dallas they are around the area especially near newly built housing. Too many to ever contemplate calling animal control. BTW, both my husband & I went to school at SIU in Carbondale. My first year I had a roommate from Murphysboro & old friends live there still, Jeff & Sharon Feltman.

Ha, ha! LLBL! I'm ROFL! No "animal control" in the tropics! The bugs were here long before the people and will be here long after.

Holy Coincidences, Batman! I was just talking to Jeff not 5 minutes ago! And i'm ok with no "animal control"...my vacation last summer was 2 weeks backpacking in New Mexico, and the summer before was 2 weeks canoeing in the BWCA. And I think I can handle a scorpion or a spider MUCH better than the bears that inhabit both those areas! Sleeping in a real bed at concordia rather than on the ground will be a luxury!

we go to baja (cabo san lucas) often and stay at the most posh resorts and STILL the little rotten scorpions sneak into the rooms once in awhile..it is desert there on the beach and you just can't help it....i tip the maids on arrival to BEG them to keep the doors SHUT while cleaning! same goes for st thomas....just in case...

as long as there are no big flying things like they have in florida...lol

Lavender, mind telling us the name of villa with the petting zoo for entomologists?

http://www.smilinglizard.com/index.html

Some more information about native insects & reptiles. Evidently, the scorpions are not deadly - - just stings like a bee.

FYI.

Hey Canoebase,
Next time you see Jeff or Sharon, tell them the Parks family says hello. We went to school together in the dark ages! Haven't seen them in years. Small world.

I have yet to see a tarantula (other than the zoo) but recently found my least favorite spider. I live in Indiana and recently saw a (very large) Wolf Spider crawling around our hangar floor. My buddy tried to do the nice thing and scoop it up to throw it outside, but the critter jumped and started running towards another guy. He jumped up and stomped it.

It had babies...

Hundreds of babies...

The babies attach to their mother's back, and immediately the floor was covered with a couple hundred baby wolf spiders crawling everywhere.

EEK!!!

I won't go into detail about what we did next because it wasn't pretty, but seeing all of those babies running around still gives me the creeps. 😉

SO glad I looked back on this thread....NOT!

Jay - that is truly disgusting. I would've s***, fainted and died. In that particular order.

Ok, so I'm avoiding work this AM but never mind the crawling things- the flying ones are worse!!! We went to St. Martin last March and started to hike in the re-habbed so-called rain forest on the French side- we were no more than about 30 paces into the trail when I was attacked by a large stinging something or other, a ball-wasp type thing, out of nowhere, no warning, nothing, just WHAM on my shoulder. I freaked, believe me, the pain was outrageous (and I've given birth twice so I know pain) and I ended up with an allergic rash that spread over half my arm, shoulder and trunk. The people working at this nature center were useless, no concern despite my tears and growing lump. Luckily, I had benedryl, have a medical background, so I could keep track of myself. A couple of benedryls and some stiff drinks on the beach and I was better mentally but the rash was huge and lasted for about 3 days. I'll take the spiders on STJ anyday.

On my honeymoon (25+years ago) we went to New Orleans. My father had recommended we try Felix's for oysters. Turns out my wife is allergic to them. Hives, swelling, pretty yucky! Went to hospital, but they use triage system, we didn't have a chance competing with stab wounds and gunshots. Finally went to local pharmacy where the pharmacist took pity on my wife, who's an RN, and gave us some prescription Benedryl. That fixed the problem but we moved down the coast to Biloxi, less tense!

Well Canoebase, I work with the Triage folks in the ED at work and you're right- gunshots always come before hives! There must be a book out there about "good" adventures while on vacation. We've had two vacations with a son with a broken foot (done one day before leaving) and one where the same son got a bad spider bite at home, got infected, drainage tube put in then on to STJ/Maho where Mom got to re-pack it and treat it for most of the vacation. I hope this Nov at Concordia brings Nothing but a good time!

Having stayed on STJ for the past nine years, I have yet to encounter either of these critters. That being said, next visit, I will most likely meet one of these guys! The mosquitos and no-see-ums are bad enough without meeting the big critters. Yikes! I'll take the geckos any day, even when they drop out of trees on your head when you're sunbathing. With your top untied. And you jump to your feet. Without realizing your top is still untied. Oh well, I don't think the view was improved much.

I'm headed to STJ in October, and saw this topic and thought it might tell me, "no, everything's gonna be fine when you go..no spiders, no scorpions"....I think I'll just keep Jo-Ann's post at the top of this list and hope her luck holds for me! But if you're there in October and I happen to have a close encounter with either/or, that will be me flying through the streets screaming!